Japan to Lose Ad Spend Edge to China in 2014

World’s second- and third-place ad markets to swap ranks

With $145.9 billion in total advertising, Asia-Pacific has the second-largest advertising economy worldwide after North America at the end of 2012. According to eMarketer, beginning in 2012, total ad spending in Asia-Pacific grew faster than in North America and that trend will continue through the rest of the forecast period, thanks to budding advertising economies and extraordinary growth rates in internet and mobile internet use in China, Indonesia and India.

With investments of $47.3 billion in 2012, or one-third of Asia-Pacific’s total, Japan led the other countries in the region in ad spending, bouncing back from a 5.9% decline in traditional media ad spending in 2011 that resulted from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan’s setback in ad spending in 2011, combined with China’s robust consumer base and the increasing advertising opportunities marketers are taking advantage of there, will help propel China ahead of Japan in ad investments by $3.4 billion in 2014. At that point, China will make up 31% of Asia-Pacific’s total and will be second only to the US in ad spending worldwide.